A/N: I do not own these characters or the show.


"Okay, I demand an explanation!" Dawes exclaimed as soon as they reached Weaver's office. "Who are you people?"

John, nervous about how his mother was doing, didn't register any of what Dawes was saying. All he wanted was to go sit with her, or at least be able to wait outside the room. But he knew that this is what comes with being John Connor. There was no practical reason for him to be there, but there was a damn practical reason for him to be here with Dawes. With his soldier.

Weaver suspected that John didn't have it in him right now to answer Dawes. "Mr. Dawes, please, if you will calm down I would be happy to explain everything to you. Now, please," she motions to the chair nearest Dawes, "sit down and I will begin."

Dawes hesitated, but decided sitting down was not such a bad idea. Especially if he was going to get the answers he so desperately sought. So as he sat, Weaver sat down in another chair while Cameron led John to the couch. He had emerged from his daze enough to begin to understand what was going on. Kyle, however, still stood near the door, ready to run to Sarah once he mustered the courage and energy to do so. His thoughts often wandered from her to his brother, though. He hoped that Kaleba was planning on using him as a bargaining chip, which would mean he's still alive. And if his brother was anything, it was a tough son of a bitch. He would make it through whatever they threw at him. Unlike John, Kyle wasn't able to focus on the task at hand.

Weaver began. "Mr. Dawes, those men were a part of what you might call a terrorist organization. This organization believes that you are a direct threat to them. They sent those men to kill you. Now, we were able to obtain this information just in time, as you have no doubt witnessed. We are not sure why you are so important to them, but I plan on finding out." She turned to John. "Where is the other Mr. Reese?"

John, somewhat confused at the seemingly random question, replied, "They took him. They shot my mom and they took him."

"I suspected as much when he didn't return with you. That, or he was dead." Dawes furrowed his brow at the woman's strangely cold and detached tone in regards to the death of someone she knows.

"We need to find him, and we need to capture whoever has him. Between us, I believe that we will be able to obtain the necessary information on this and other matters. I will have John Henry check the traffic cameras to trace the men's path."

John nodded slightly, accepting this plan. He'd recently resigned himself to the decision-making duties and leg work required of his destiny, leaving much of the research to that of John Henry, and at times, Catherine Weaver. "Can I see my mom now?"

"You cannot see her, but if you wish, you may wait downstairs outside the room." Weaver didn't understand humans' desire to be near those that they cannot possible help, but she understood that the desire existed. "I was going to have you debrief Mr. Dawes more completely, as I believe it is time to begin adding to our numbers, but I'm sure Cameron can take care of that."

John hesitated, wanting desperately for Cameron to be with him at a time like this, but he suspected that Weaver was set on this plan if John wanted to be near his mother. He didn't want to argue, so he reluctantly turned to Cameron. "As soon as you're done, I want you there with me, okay?" He took her head in his hands and pressed his forehead to hers. He breathed deeply, closing his eyes, before he opened them again and tore himself away from her, heading to the door. As he approached, Kyle asked him, "Mind if I come with you? Not much need for me up here."

John noticed the tension in Kyle's voice, realizing for the first time just how much Sarah might mean to Kyle.

"Of course."


"Advance directly to 'Go'. Collect $200." Savannah read off her Chance card, a smile on her face. She retrieved her tiny terrier dog game piece and floated it over each piece of Monopoly real estate for almost two blocks and finally set it down 'Go' space.

John Henry immediately counted out $200. He handed Savannah one $100 bill, one $50 bill, one $20 bill, two $10 bills, one $5 bill, and five $1 bills.

As Savannah placed each into its corresponding pile on her side of the table, she asked, "John Henry, why don't you just give me two $100 bills?"

"If you possess a variety of bills, then it is less likely that you will need change later. Also, this will help to enhance your mathematics and monetary skills."

"Oh," Savannah said, almost absent-mindedly as she was admiring her growing piles of bills, "okay."

It was John Henry's turn now and he rolled the dice. Although he could roll any amount he so chooses, he had disabled that ability to make it fair for Savannah. After his game play with Mr. Murch, Ms. Weaver had explained to John Henry that that could be considered cheating. It hadn't occurred to him as he assumed that game play was based on an individual's skill. It wasn't his fault Mr. Murch couldn't roll whatever he'd like. However, now that he understood that this was considered cheating, he ceased doing so. He knew from his talks with Mr. Ellison that cheating was unethical and immoral.

One die read '1' while the other die read '3'. He moved his game piece, the thimble, four spaces to Reading Railroad. "I believe I would like to buy Reading Railroad." As he was acting as the bank, he simply placed two of his $100 bills in the bank and selected the Reading Railroad card from the carefully placed available cards. He looked at Savannah expectantly.

In response, she picked up the dice and rolled. She rolled a '1' and a '2'. Savannah moved her game piece ahead three spaces to Baltic Avenue. Her shoulders immediately slumped down in disappointment. "Your turn John Henry."

"You don't want to purchase Baltic Avenue?"

"No, I only get $4 if you land on it. It's not worth it."

"Are you sure about that Savannah?"

"Yes."

"Think of it this way. Every time I land on that space, you collect $4. Also, you prevent me from purchasing the space and charging you $4 every time you land on it. It can also be a useful bargaining chip in the future if I purchase Mediterranean Avenue or if you purchase it and I want both of them."

"Why would you want both of them?"

"I can put houses and hotels on them. It's cheap to do and I can make up to $250 or $450 on either Baltic Avenue or Mediterranean Avenue respectively."

"Or I could do that," Savannah said, finally catching on and getting a bit excited.

John Henry smiled. "Yes, or you could do that."

"Then I think I will buy Baltic Avenue."

"That will be $60."

Savannah handed him a $50 bill and a $10 bill. He took them and placed them in the bank before giving her the Baltic Avenue card.

"Thank you John Henry."

"You're welcome, Savannah."

John Henry picked up the dice, ready to roll again, when Savannah asked, "John Henry, what does 'respectively' mean?"


"We're just putting the finishing touches on the place," the foreman, Nate Harding, yelled over the noise. There were numerous electric tools currently being used. He was giving the Akagis, Carly, and Murch a tour.

"I sure hope you find everything satisfactory. Ms. Weaver is intent on the project being completed by tomorrow. I wish she would have sent you in sooner."

"Well, we were working on some last-minute additions," Alex interjected. Hearing this, it occurred to Carly that Alex often counted himself as part of the team when he didn't actually contribute anything practical. Sure, he helped his son, but he was more of a contract negotiator than anything.

"I'm just glad you're here now. So much of this project is a mystery to me. We're working with materials and machinery that have never been used before, at least not to my knowledge."

"You're right, they haven't been used before. Most of this was invented and designed by us specifically for this project over the last few months," Murch said.

"Really? The four of you designed all of this?"

None of them attempted to point out that Alex Akagi hadn't actually created anything.

"To Ms. Weaver's specifications, of course," Murch added.

"Huh. Well, let me show you the control center for the facility. You should be able to recognize any changes that need to be made before tomorrow from there."


"It's curious, how you just happened to show up where I sent a team to go. My men are always on alert for you. Their orders are to bring you in alive, if it's at all possible. I never thought today would be the day. I thought I'd have to hunt you down first."

Fischer picked up a scalpel from a tray in the corner of the room. When he stepped back into the light, Derek wondered how this man had become so lost. He was working for the machines, and it didn't seem to bother him. But he also didn't seem to be a psychotic killer grateful for the opportunity to live out his murderous fantasies in a somewhat acceptable environment. He was just angry, but somehow seemed numb at the same time. As if at one point in his life, this kind of situation would have terrified him, but now he just doesn't feel it. He's angry, though, Derek could tell. And right now, Fischer's anger was directed at him.

He could only stall as much as possible and hope for a miracle. He knew John Henry was good at finding people, and with Cameron and Weaver on their side, it would be easy enough for them to retrieve him. If they even cared enough to do so. He knew that in his time, once someone was caught, you had to let them go. Any other action would most likely result in more deaths, and they couldn't risk that.

As Fischer brought the blade to Derek's arm, Derek braced himself, knowing he would have to hide his pain as much as possible. It might have been more effective to show the pain, as Fischer would no doubt escalate the pain until Derek finally screamed, but that wasn't Derek's style. No way Fischer was going to win. Not yet.

But to his surprise, Fischer didn't cut him. Instead, he asked a question. "What were you doing at Dawes' house?"

"It was his dog's birthday. We promised we'd stop by and help celebrate."

A wry smile appeared on Fischer's face. "Funny." He pressed the blade lightly into Derek's skin. "Now the real answer."

"What can I say? The guy loves his dog. It's really a shame that your guys had to kill it. Was that really necessary?"

Fischer didn't answer. In one fluid movement, he sliced into Derek's skin, creating a cut that covered almost the length of his forearm.

Derek stayed quiet, which did not sit well with Fischer.

"I figured you'd be a tough egg to crack. The other Fischer was a tough egg, and you cracked him, so that says something about you. Let's move on to the next question, as I don't so much care about why you were there with Dawes. Just a slight curiosity, really. Of course, what I really want to know is where Dawes is now."

"What makes you think I'd know that? I'm here, remember? I can't know where Dawes is."

"Cheeky. But you'd know where they'd take him."

"If you aren't smart enough to find them, than it doesn't matter anyway. You'll never be able to get past them."

"Then they'll kill my men, and you can celebrate. So why don't you humor me and tell me where they are?"

"No." It was the most serious, simple answer Derek had given, and it threw Fischer off for a moment.

"That's a shame. What would you like next? Another slice? Or I've got some other toys if you'd like."

Derek didn't respond. He kept his expression stoic.

Just wait him out. Find out whatever you can about his organization, about him, Derek thought to himself.

They'll come for you.

I hope.


John and Kyle sat in silence outside the room where Sarah was being worked on. Neither really knew what to say, and since they hadn't even known each other that long, neither knew if the other would even want to talk. Kyle decided to try anyway.

"John, your mom-"

John cut him off, "We're not talking about it."

His tone made it apparent that this wasn't a request, it was a command. A command from the General.

When John spoke again, his voice was softer. "Once she's out of the woods," because he had to believe that she would be okay, "we'll find Derek. Hopefully that will lead us to someone high in the ranks of Kaleba. If it does, we're bringing that someone back with us. I'm sick of being on the defense all the time. It's time we're on the offense. That was the whole plan when we joined forces with Weaver. Hell, that was the plan when we decided to stay in one place years ago."

"We also need to find out why Dawes is so important to Kaleba," Kyle pointed out.

"And why Danny is. And god, we never did stop to try to retrieve the HK. We need to find it again, as I'm sure they've moved it, and we need to destroy it. We can't be worrying about that on top of everything else."

"But first, we wait for Sarah."

"We wait for Sarah," John assented.


"Why should I believe you?" Dawes asked, flabbergasted. This teenage girl had just told him of an impending apocalypse. Of a war-torn world. Of machines made to kill. Of these machines being sent back in time.

Cameron tilted her head. "Why would I lie to you?"

"I don't know. Some kind of practical joke?"

"An apocalypse is not funny."

"No, it's not. So if you're lying, you need to tell me now."

"I'm not lying."

"Where's your proof?"

"You saw that man. You shot him. The bullets barely nicked him. Instead, they just cut away parts of his epidermis revealing hyper-alloy coltan metal. It seems a sufficient amount of evidence."

"That could have just been my imagination."

Cameron squinted her eyes together, suspicious. "And somehow I knew what you were imagining? Or maybe you are suggesting that we both imagined the same sight?"

"I don't know, maybe I mentioned it while I was still in shock."

"Have you ever heard of Occam's razor, Mr. Dawes?"

"Yes, of course."

"Then you know that the simplest explanation is usually the correct explanation."

"You call machines taking over the world a simple explanation."

"At this point, it is much simpler and more rational than any explanation who have come up with." Cameron paused for a moment, considering. "Would you like proof, Mr. Dawes? Indisputable proof?"

Dawes eyed her skeptically. "What kind of proof?"

"There are a few machines that are working on the side of the humans. I could show you one if you'd like. If you saw the metal, then would you believe?"

"I'm not sure."

Weaver had been standing there the whole time, observing their conversation. Cameron looked at her pointedly, and Weaver instantly understood her meaning. Dawes was too wrapped up in his thoughts to notice. Weaver considered it for a quick moment before nodding in assent.

"One of the most advanced machines is called a T-1001. It is often referred to as a Liquid Metal Terminator. Ms. Weaver will demonstrate. But remember, she is on our side."

The new knowledge that he was in the same room as one of these monsters he'd just been told about, assuming that everything Cameron had told him was true, was terrifying for Dawes. As Weaver moved into view, he racked his brain, trying to figure out what to expect. He came up empty.

He watched in shock as the woman's arm morphed into a silver substance and took a solid form, sharp on the end, like a sword or spear.

"So, Mr. Dawes, do you believe me now?"


A/N: I do not own the game Monopoly or any of its components.